Bed covering



Dec. 4, 1951 K P, BELLINGER y 2,577,178

' BED COVERING Filed Nov. 17, 195o /nvenfor Af/omey Patented Dec. 4, 1951 2,577,1731y BED covEaInGv Kenneth P. Bollinger, Wilbralam, Mass.

Application November 17, 1950, Serial No. 196,322

2 Claims.

This invention relates to bed coverings of Various forms, such as sheets, blankets and electrically heated blankets. It has for its Aobject a construction by means of which the bed covering may lie atwhen the bed ismade and yet will provide a pocket for the feet of the occupant without disturbing the snugness of the covering.

It is a common complaint among tall persons that they have diiculty in keeping warm due to the fact that their feet come so close to the footboard of the bed that they cannot extend their legs without pulling out the bed covering where it is tucked under the mattress. Either they have to sleep curled up or their feet are exposed. In accordance with my invention the bed covering is formed, near the foot end of the bed, with one or more pockets which normally lie at on the bed, but which will receive the feet of an occupant in as much space as may be desired Without pulling out the tucked-under portion of the covering. The manner in which this is accomplished will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the top sheet for a bed, showing the way in which the sheet is cut prior to the attachment of other pieces in the preferred manner of practicing my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail of one of the two triangular gussets, those portions which are to be secured to adjacent elements by adhesive r sewing being indicated by stippling and pre-formed crease lines being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a similar View of a rectangular bottom piece;

Fig. 4 is a side view of a top sheet with the assembled pocket expanded part way;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, partly broken away to conserve space;

Fig. 6 is a similar section on. line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6, but with the pocket collapsed in position for laundering; and

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the pocket partially expanded in use.

The bed sheet or other covering I has near its foot end one or more U-shaped cuts 2 the cross bar 3 of each of which is spaced from the end of the sheet a distance suicient to bring the cross bar above the mattress when'the bed is made up. The ap 4 thus formed is joined to the sheet by triangular gussets 5 and by a rectangle 6, and of course could be made separate from the sheet and attached thereto if desired. The gussets 5 and the rectangle 6 are provided with extensions 1 which overlap and are secured to the body of the sheet and the ilap 4 by sewing or by a suitable adhesive. The gussets and the rectangle are similarly attached to each other. The rectangle 6 has an inwardly directed intermediate fold line 8 so that the side 9 of the rectangle attached to the flap can fold down over the side I0 of the rectangle attached to the sheet. Each gusset has inwardly directed creases II, I2 and I3 extending from a point I4 of the triangle to the three apexes I5, I6 and I1 and an outwardly directed crease I8 extending from the point I4 to the midpoint I9 of the side 20 adjacent rectangle 6. The junction of the gussets Vand the body of the sheet, as well as the junction Aof the rectangle and the body of the sheet, are

made with inwardly directed creases.

The creases are preferably made permanent either by a reinforcement or by treatment with one of the standard crease-preserving resins so that the pocket or tent 2l (Fig. 8) formed in the covering by the occupants feet 22 will collapse readily (Fig. 7) to perfectly flat form creating no appreciable bump in the bed covering. Likewise, the ilatpcondition of the pocket will be pre.- served after laundering, and can be passed through an automatic ironing machine without difficulty if the end towards the head of the bed is fed into the machine first.

The shape of the gussets and the location of the creases are of importance in allowing the pocket to be expanded easily and yet making a ilat, compact surface when collapsed. While various folds may be made for this purpose it is preferred to make the gussets 5 in the form of an is-osceles triangle having a base 20 and equal sides 23 and 24. The creases II, I2 and I3 bisect the angles at the apexes I5, I6 and Il; and the crease I8 is a continuation of crease II although folded in the opposite direction. While described and shown as inwardly directed, creases II, I2 and I3 could if desired be directed outwardly and crease I8 inwardly, the collapsed gussets in this case extending outwardly at the sides of the ap 4 rather than under it.

It will be understood that this construction is used on the upper sheet only, the bottom sheet 25 being of the usual construction. Both sheets are tucked under the mattress 26 in the usual way.

What I claim is:

1` A bed covering having near one end an opening, and side and top members secured to the bed covering adjacent the opening to form a pocket to receive the feet of one lying under the bed covering, said side members being pre-formed with permanent creases to permit the expansion and contraction of the pocket.

2. A bed covering having a substantially rectangular opening near one end, a pair of gussets in the form of an isosceles triangle secured to the covering adjacent the sides of the opening and having pre-formed creases extending along the bisectrioes of its angles, that crease from the mid-point of the base of the triangle to the point of intersection of the bisectrices being formed in the opposite direction from the other creases, and a rectangular piece connecting the bases of the gussets, the end of the flap, and the bottom edge of the opening.

Y KENNETH P. BEILINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

